Over the summer, D’s office moved to a fancy brand new building, just down the street.  A few weeks ago, they had a family day where employees could show off the new digs.

There was a photographer in the lobby so we could take a family picture.

Blingy elevator

I was glad to see that one of the baristas was there and that the coffee bar was open.  We had a vanilla cold brew and an iced latte.  The kids had real hot chocolate (not the powdered stuff).  Unlimited free coffee drinks seems dangerous to me, but D is happy to take advantage of it while he can.

Nice place to enjoy said coffee.  They are very close to the Irvine Spectrum, as you can see.

Nice view of the urban sprawl that is Orange County.  n’s hands look really big in this picture!

D whistling while he (pretends to) work.  They have flex workspaces, so employees do not have a cubicle to call their own. However, most people are creatures of habit, so they end up in the same space anyway.

This sign made me laugh.  We never had this at my law firm!

This is where D stores his lunch and heats it up if he brings it.

Loved all of the furniture.  I told D that they ever get rid of it, we’ll take it for our house!

Family Day was a nice opportunity for the kids (and me) to develop a better idea of where D spends the vast majority of his time during the week.  We also enjoyed the refreshments (pastries, fruit, etc.) and swag (hats, notebooks, travel mugs, etc.)!

The last weekend before school started, our family organized a camping trip with our small group at San Mateo Campground, near San Clemente Beach.  We were able to snag the group site, which ended up being huge!  We only had five families that were able to go, so there was plenty of space to spread out.

As mentioned in my Coola sunscreen post, we went to San Clemente Beach in the afternoon.

For dinner, we kept it simple with hot dogs and chili.  However, when we returned to our campsite, we discovered that some squirrels had eaten two hot dog buns and an ENTIRE package of King’s Hawaiian Rolls.

To go along with the large campsite, there was a huge grill!

In the morning, I had everyone try some Veggie-Go’s and Dave’s Killer Bread from my sampling opportunities.

We packed up, did a little shopping at the Rainbow Sandal Outlet, and then went to lunch at Hapa J’s in San Clemente.

This Loco Moco was ordered by someone else, but D wanted a picture of it.

D and I shared “Da Biggest Plate” and the kids shared a chicken katsu plate.

Everything was really good, and the restaurant was big enough to accommodate our large party.  Fun weekend!

Last month, D and I had the privilege of going to Baja California, Mexico, for a home-building missions trip with our church.  This was my second time (last time was in 2013), and D’s seventh or so time (I have lost count).

The drive down takes about seven hours.  It is about the same as going to Northern California for us, but in the opposite direction of course.  At the border crossing, our van was subjected to a search.  The van was put through a giant x-ray machine of sorts and scanned, but nothing objectionable was found.  Phew.

Only D brought his phone on the trip, so I put him in charge of pictures.

We rode in separate vans.  D was the navigator for his van.

The group always stops for lunch at Costco in Ensenada.  Interesting that they have lasagna.  We stick to the pizza and hot dogs, and everything tastes exactly the same as in the U.S.

Our first dinner was at “Red Bowl” taco stand.

That is not its official name, but you can see how the nickname came about.

We ate very well during the week, and I am happy to report there were no gastrointestinal issues!

The firepit at the base camp was our gather place.  We had a devotional there every morning to remind us why we were there.

When we first arrived at the worksite, there was a concrete slab and lumber.  D and I were on different worksites, but they were fairly close together.  D was the roof supervisor for his house.

It is truly amazing to see how fast the house can go up with teamwork.

Mango paleta break!

When you see the living conditions of the families we build for, it is heartbreaking.

This family welcomed a new baby just a few days before we arrived!

My favorite day is dedication, where we make the house a home and present the keys to the families.

Notice the Mazda jacket on the bed?  D thought it would be a nice donation since it had the Mexico flag on one sleeve and the Japan flag on the other–haha.

During our free time, we went to the nearby beach.  It is amazing how access to the coast is free–no $15 parking fees!

We ate one of our dinners at Papa Ruben’s.

I was able to split a torta with D.  Bread tasted good after having so many tortillas!

We also visited IDT ministries and learned about all of the trade schools that are providing training and hope to the people in the area.  This is “The Dome”.

Going to Baja is always an eye-opening experience.  It is exciting to see God at work.  I cannot wait until k and n are old enough to go and we will be able to serve together as a family!